In the Heia/Steinan area of Storfosna, the Germans established a network of trenches, small bunkers and defensive positions. It was probably built in a supporting role to the much larger HKB Storfosna located close by. Although very overgrown, the area is largely untouched and these remains can still be clearly seen today. These two videos are from two underground bunkers connecting machine gun nests, mortar positions etc.Continue Reading

Just south of Oslo lies this quite large bunker. It’s not quite clear what it’s original purpose is but the most likely theory I’ve heard so far is some kind of secure archive. It’s a fairly interesting and remarkably undisturbed bunker considering it’s proximity to heavily populated areas. Definitely worth a look.Continue Reading

A one billion Norwegian kroner fortress built on a weather beaten island on the Norwegian coast just as the cold war was coming to an end. The builders hardly had time to pack up and leave before the government decided to disband this and several other similar fortresses, abandoning them to the elements and a flock of sheep.Continue Reading

(See below for Norwegian text)
Construction of Brettingen fort was started in 1897, at the same time as Hysnes and Hambåra forts which together formed the Agdenes constellation of fortifications. The construction was a part of a larger military build-up towards the dissolution of the union with Sweden in 1905. Luckily, although the army was put on a an alert and partial mobilization was enacted, no hostilities ever broke out. At least outside of the negotiation rooms 🙂Continue Reading

This facility formed part of what was planned to become a string of similar outposts defending a strategically important axis for an imagined attack by Soviet forces. The plans for this defensive line was drawn up during the 1980s and this facility was finished in 1995. Due to the fall of the iron curtain and the end of the cold war, the plans was eventually abandoned and in the end, only 3 of these outposts was ever built. The whole facility was eventually sold to private interests, and today sits largely unused, even though the power is on and dehumidifier is still running, keeping the complex nice and dry.Continue Reading

Dønnums fabrikker in Mogreina closed down for good in 1995 but still, 16 years later, the old disused factory building sites unused and derelict as a giant blemish on the otherwise picturesque local community. The factory processed the remains of dead animals, producing bone meal, grease and glue. Needless to say, the smell from this process was not particularly pleasant and it may have been a campaign by the local community to have the factory shut down that was the final nail in the coffin for the factory.
The fate of the factory building after it’s closure has been a long drawn out battle between the local community, the municipality and the current owner of the grounds. The factory has been ordered torn down by the municipality but the owner wishes to build houses on the grounds after the factory has been removed, and claims he does not have the money to tear down the factory without getting a go ahead for the housing project and securing financing for this. There is also the issue of ground contamination after years of industrial activity on the grounds. Most likely the factory will be torn down in relative near future.Continue Reading

HKB Justöen, also known as Birkenstrasse, was a coastal fortress built by the German army during the occupation of Norway during world war 2. The building commenced in 1941 but even though it soon became operational, it was never completely finished before the surrender of Nazi Germany in may 1945. The fortress was equipped with 4 x 10.5cm K332 (f) French field cannons with a range of approx. 16000 meters. The fortress was spread out over a large area with a multitude of smaller machine gun positions, flame throwers, mortar positions as well as being completely surrounded by a barbed wire blockade and a mine field.Continue Reading